All Saints: A new monastery in Kampala
The Holy Monastery of All Saints of Uganda belongs to the Holy Metropolis of Kampala and is located 25 kilometers northwest of the capital, Kampala.
It was founded in 2020 and has two native nuns, the Eldress Gabrielia, Sister Paisia, as well as six novice nuns.
The monastery also hosts 65 orphaned children.
We are the third women’s monastery in Uganda, while there is also one men’s monastery.
The personal journey of Sister Gabrielia
From the age of 11, when I was orphaned by both my parents, I became an Orthodox Christian. From my first year of middle school, I was taken under the care of the Orthodox Mission Church and specifically by Father Ioannis Kimbuuka.
My first spiritual father was the late Metropolitan of Kampala, Jonah, and after his passing in 2022, our new His Eminence Metropolitan Ieronymos.
I studied Social Work and Social Administration and recently completed my education studies as a teacher.
In 2022, I took my monastic vows and from Paraskevi (Friday) I was named Sister Gabrielia.
The history of our Monastery
Initially, in the area of our Monastery, there was only one brick room, and nearby was the church of Saint Demetrios.
In this room I lived with Sister Paisia, and we divided it with a curtain to accommodate the first five orphaned children.
Later, as our children increased because they were coming from our nearby school, a Cypriot businessman built two buildings for us, and the monastery began to develop despite many difficulties.
In 2024, Mr. Alexios Sideris from Kozani came to our Monastery for missionary work and was hosted for 47 days. He helped us and introduced us to friends from Kozani who additionally supported the completion of some new spaces. Thus, through this group, I came to Greece to learn the Orthodox Monastic Typikon and was hosted in notable Monasteries in Western Macedonia and Thessaloniki, where the knowledge and experience were crucial and will help in the development of our Monastery and Orphanage.
Our needs
Our needs are many:
- Land purchase. We need to expand our land so that we can cultivate and have our own food from vegetables and fruits, while now there is a shortage for the children, and then all we have to give them is soup made from cornmeal with water and a few beans.
- Water supply. We need a borehole for water supply, while today we use rainwater and water from the source of the nearby school.
- Infrastructure:
- Dormitories. Extension of dormitories because our children have increased to 65 and they sleep in the same bed and on the floor.
- Dining room. A dining hall and assembly room. Now they eat on the ground on plastics that we spread, regardless of weather conditions, heat or rain, with mud, etc.
- Auxiliary spaces. We need auxiliary spaces such as a sewing room, oven, etc.
- Education. To send the children and novice nuns to school, we must pay tuition because there is no public education.
- Holy Church. The Holy Church where we worship is not part of the Monastery, and as a monastery, we need to acquire our own Monastic Church.
Our hope
For all the above, we strive with the help of God. In every step we take, we daily experience the presence and miraculous help of God, the Virgin Mary, and all the Saints. There we find our support and there we hope!
With fervent prayers,
Eldress Gabrielia
